Binding-machine



A. E. CRANSTON.

BINDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 13, 1919.

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Patented Apr. 26, 1921.

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A. E. CRANSTON.

BINDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 13. 1919.

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A. E. CBANSTON. BINDING MACHINE.

APPLICATIONFILED SEPT.I3, I919. 1,376,,096 Patented Apr. 26, 1921,

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BINDING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 26., 19211.

Application filed September 13, 1919. Serial No. 323,542.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ALBERT EARL CRAN- STON, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Spokane, in the county of Spokane and State of WVashington, have invented certain new and useful Improvemen'ts-in- Binding-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to bundling machines generally, and particularly to a machine for securing the parts comprised in a box or barrel into bundles, the present invention contemplating certain improvements in my pending application filed September 4th, 1919, Serial No. 321.643.

It is a purpose of my invention to provide a binding machine which is semi-auto matic in'operation whereby numerous parts necessary to a completely automatically operated machine are eliminated,,thus producing a machine which is extremely simple in construction and which can be manufactured at a minimum cost. The machine is specifically designed for use in small factories Where it is not desired to incur the expense of installing a wholly automatic machine, ,or for use in larger factories where it can be employed as an auxiliary to an automatic machine.

I will describe one form of binding machine embodying my invention and will then point out the novel features thereof in claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a View showing in side elevation one form of binding machine embodying my invention Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the machine shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 taken from the opposite side of the machine;

Fig. 4 is a View similar to Fig. 2 show-.

ing the opposite end of the machine;

Fig. 5 is a view showingin plan the knotter and needle shown in the preceding views;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary detail View taken on the line 7-7 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a detail perspective view of one form of guide finger embodying my invention' Fig 9 is a sectional View taken on the line 99 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 10 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 10-10 of Fig. 9;

F igs. 11, 12, and 13 are views partly in phantom showing the different positions of the elements comprised in the machine dur- 1Il the tying of a bundle;

Fig. 14 is a perspective view of a bundle after it has been tiedand showing the manner in which the tying wire embraces.the same.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts in each of the several views.

My invention essentially consists of a knotter for cutting and twisting the ends of a loop of wire to effect the secure tying of a plurality of boards, shingles, staves or the like into bundles; a needle for manipulating the tying wire to thread the knotter and to hold the wire during the cutting and tying operation; and means for manually actuating the needle and simultaneously controlling the mechanism for actuating the knotter. I

Referring specifically to the drawings, and particularly to Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, F designates generally a frame comprising substantially triangular shaped side members 15 and 16 which are connected at their upper ends by a plate 17 which constitutes the bed of the machine; The frame F is supported upon casters H for permitting movement of the entire machine to any desired point. As shown in Fig. 4., the rear edge of the bed 17 is formed with a depending extension 18, while as shown in Figs. 1 and 9 the forward edge of the bed 17 is provided with a plate 19 supported upon brackets 20 fixed to the side members 15 and 16 by bolts 21. The plate 19 in effect is a continuation of the bed 17, and it is the object of this bed to support a bundle of staves, boards or the like, during the tying operation. As shown in Fig. 6, the knotter generally indicated at K is secured to the extension 18 by means of bolts 22. The construction and operation of the knotter K is clearly shown and described in my pending application filed September 6th, 1919, Serial No. 322,086. However, to a clear understanding of the present inventionit will be necessary to briefly describe certain parts thereof and their operation. As shown in Fig. 6, the knotter K comprises a substantially U-shaped yoke Y including an upper head 23' and a lower head 24:. Journaled in the head 24 and extending into the I t will be understood that when the wire head 23 is a shaft 25 which when rotated actuates a plurality of rings (not shown), to effect a cutting and twisting of the ends of a loop of wire which embraces a. bundle of material. The wire is indicated at W and the manner of forming the loop will be fully described hereinafter. To effect a secure tying of the bundle, the free end of the wire W is adapted to be held within the knotter K by a gripping plate 26, such plate cooperating with one of the aforementioned rings to provide gripping jaws. The plate 26 is biased toward the head 23 by a spring 27 which surrounds the shaft 25 and is interposed between a pair of rings 28 and 29. The ring 29 is fixed to the shaft 25, while the ring 28 is slidable thereon and under the action of the spring 27 con stantly bears upon the plate 26 to secure the proper gripping action. As shown in Fig. 5, the head 23 is. provided with a slot 30 into which the ends of a loop of wire W are adapted to be inserted by means of a needle generally indicated at N.

As shown in Figs. 5, 6, and 9, the needle N, in the present instance,'comprises a bar 31 and a substantially U-shaped bracket 32 which is pivoted to the head 23 by bolts 33. The bar 31 is pivotally mounted in the bracket 32 as at 34, while the lower end of the bar is pivotally connected to an operating lever L at the point 35. The upper end of the bar 31 is bent to provide a positioning finger 36, while adjacent such finger is a guide finger 37 secured to one side of the bar by bolts 37. As shown-in Fig. 5, the free end of the positioning finger 36 is inclined upwardly and provided with a notch 36 for receiving the wire W. As shown in Fig. 8, the guiding finger 37 is provided with an offset portion 37 the outerend of which latter is provided with a notch 37 while the under side thereof is formed with a groove 37. As illustrated to advantage in Fig. 5, the notches 36 and 37 occupy the same vertical plane as the slot 30 in the head 23, the purpose of this arrangement being to insert and hold the wire W in proper position within the head 23 of the knotter. The groove 37 receives the wire Wand serves to maintain the wire in proper position during the cutting and tying operation. As a further means to this end I provide aretention plate 39 slidably mounted on a pin 40 and the bolt 38. The bolt 38 is free to slide laterally through the bar 31 and an opening formed in the guide finger 37. However, the bolt38 is normally held in the position shown in Fig. 7 by means of a coil-spring 41 which encircles the bolt and is interposed between Washers 42. The lower edge of the retention plate 39 is undercut as at 39 to allow for the insertion of the wire W thereunder. 65

needle N it will be obvious that when the lever L is rocked about the'point 43 as a center, the bar 31 being connected thereto will move vertically from the position shown in Fig. 11 to the position shown in Fig. 12. With the bar 31 in the elevated position as shown in Fig. 11, the fingers 36 and 37 substantially overlie the head 23 of the knotter K, but when the bar 31 is moved to its lowermost position, a limited lateral movement ofthe bar occurs during'this movement so that the finger 36 moves inwardly toward the knotter head 23 to the position shown in Fig. 12. This lateral movement of the bar 31 is effected by virtue of the bracket 32, it being understood that the latter moves about the bolts 33 as a center when the bar previously ber of turns by a mechanism which I will now describe Referring again to Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive,

S designates acountershaft which is journaled in bearings 45 secured to the rear edge of the members 15 and 16. The shaft S is also supported by a bearing 46 which is formed on the lower end of an annular extension 47 of the yoke Y. Fixed to the shaft S is a bevel gear 48 which meshes with a similar gear 49 fixed to the lower end of the shaft 25. The shaft S' is operatively connected to a main shaft S by,means of sprockets 50 and 51 fixed to the shaftsS and S, respectively, and over which is trained anendless chain 52. The main shaft S is journaled in bearings 53 (Fig. 2), secured to the front edges of the side members 15 and 16. The main shaft S is at times driven by a driving shaft S through the medium of a relatively large friction wheel 54 fixed to the shaft S, and a smaller friction wheel 55 fixed to the shaft S The shaft S is adapted to be driven by a motor M secured to a platform P arranged on the forward end of the frame F and supported in horizontal position by brace rods 56. .As shown inFig. 2, the motor shaft'is rovided with a pulley 57 while the shaft 2 is provided with a relatively large pulley 58, and trained about the two pulleys is an endless belt 59.

From the foregoing arrangement, it will be seen that the motor M drives the shaft S ,,and the latter at times drives the main shaft S which inturn rotates the shaft S and thereby drives the shaft 25 of the knotter to effect an actuation of the latter.

As previously stated, the control of the mechanism for actuating the knotter K is effected automatically and to this end I provide the following mechanism:

Shaft S is journaled in bearings 60 and' 61 secured to the front edges of the side members of the frame F, as shown in Fig. 2. The construction of the bearing 61 is such that the shaft S is allowed a slight lateral movement, while the bearing 60 is constructed to allow a greater lateral movement of the shaft to permit a more pronounced movement of the adjacent end thereof. The purpose of this mounting is to allow the friction gear 55 to be moved into or out of engagement with the friction wheel 54 and to thereby connect or disconnect the main shaft S from'the driving shaft S nect or disconnect the same from the shaft S, I employ the lever L which is operatively connected to the shaft S by means of a bar 62 which is connected at its upper end to a sleeve 63 embracing the shaft S as clearly shown in Fig. 10. The lower end of the bar 62 is provided with a strap 64 which is associated with the bar to slidably receive the lever L therebetween and to limit the downward movement of the same. For limiting the upward movement of the lever L, I provide a lug or bolt 65 which is disposed a predetermined distance above the strap 64, for a purpose which is to be hereinafter described. As shown in Fig. 4 a coil spring 66 is connected to the lever adjacent the pedal 44 and to the lower head 24 of the yoke Y. 'This spring 66 serves to bias the lever L upwardly, and in so doing such lever abuts the lug 65 thereby lifting the bar 62 and the shaft S position of the shaft S the friction wheel 55 does not contact with the wheel 54 so that the main shaft S normally remains at rest.

In order to move the shaft S so that-the friction wheel 55 will contact with the wheel 54, the lever L is manually depressed by the pedal 44, thus causing the lower edge of the lever to abut the strap 64 and thereby draw the bar 62 and the shaft S downwardly. It will be understood that when the lever is depressed,,such movement is against the tension of the spring 66 and when the leveris released the spring 66 will act to automatically return the lever to normal. position and to thereby l te the I shaft S To actuate the shaft S to con- In the elevated To maintain the lever L in its lowermost position after it has been once depressed. by an operator, I provide a cam wheel 67 (Fig. 9), which is fixed to a shaft S? journaled in bearings 68 carried by the frame F. The shaft S is disposed below the shaft S and is operatively connected thereto at all times by means of a large spur gear 69 and a small spur gear 70 fixed to the shafts S and S, respectively. The cam wheel 67. has a major portion of its cam face disposed concentrically of the shaft S while the remainder is completed by a notch or slot 67 (Fig. 9). 71 designates a roller carried by the lever L and shaped to continuously contact with the cam face of the wheel 67 As shown in Fig. 9, the roller 71 lies within the notch 67 when the lever L is in its normal or elevated position.' However, when the lever L is depressed to its lowermost position, the roller 71 moves out of the notch 67 on to the concentric face of the cam wheel. Simultaneously with this movement, the shaft S is depressed so that the shaft S and consequently the shaft S are rotated thereby causing rotation of the shaft S through the gears 69 and 70. Upon rotation of the shaft S cam wheel 63 is also rotated thus'causing roller 71 to ride upon the concentric surface of the cam wheel and to maintain this position until the cam has completed one cycle whereupon the roller again falls into the notch 67? thus permitting the lever L to return to its normal elevated position under the action of the spring 66.

As shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, the wire W isfed to the machine from a source of supply which in the present instance comprises a coil C supported upon the platform by uprights 72. Coacting with the uprights 72 are spring clips 73 which are secured at one extremity to the platform P, while the other extremities normally bearagainst the top of the uprights. These clips 7 3 allow the wire Wto uncoil from the up rights at the same time restricting the uncoiling so that the wire will not become tangled. The wire W is supported in operative relation to the bed 19 of the machine by a pulley 74 mounted upon an upright 75 arranged at the forward end of the bed and secured in position by means of thebrace rods 76. At the rear end of the bed 19, I provide positioning stops 77, which are secured to the extension 18 by means of screws 78, as shown in Fig. 6. The stops 77 are designed to aid an operator in positioning a bundle of material B upon the bed 17 and 19, and to hold the bundle in proper position during the tying operation.

From the foregoing description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, the operation of the machine will be readily understood as follows:

Before the bundle B isplaced upon the bed of the material, as shown in Fig. 1, the end of the wire W is inserted between the plate 26 and the head 23, as clearly shown in Fig. 6. With the wire end threaded in the wire adjacent the pulley 74; and draws the wire over the top of the bundle. The wire is then passed through notch 36 of the positioning finger 36, then through notch 37 and groove 37 of guide finger 37,

and beneath plate 39, spring 41 yielding sufficiently to allow for this movement. The wire is now in the position shown in Fig. 11, it being understood that the wire is securelyheld within the knotter. The operator now depresses pedal 14 causing roller 71 to radually withdraw from the notch 67. t the same time, the needle N is swung downwardly and inwardly causing the wire to be drawn tightly around the bundle B and to be thrust into the groove 30 of the head 23. The spring 11 allows the plate 39 to come outward sufficiently to allow the wire to slip during the downward movement of the needle N, at the same time maintaining the wire taut and preventing the accumulation of slack.

lVhen the lever L is depressed there is certain amount of lost motion between the lever L and the bar 62 before the lever lowers the bar. This lost motion is obtained by virtue of the arrangement of the lug 65 and the strap 64. As shown in Fig. 10, the abutment faces of the strap 64 and the lug 65 are spaced apart a distance which appreciably exceeds the height of the lever L so that when the lever is moved from elevated to lowered position, it does not engage the strap 64-untilit has almost reached its lowermost position. The purpose of this movement is to allow the roller 71 to be withdrawn from the notch 67 a before the shaft S is operatively connected to the shaft S thereby permitting the roller to engage the concentric face of the cam wheel 67 be fore the cam starts to rotate; With the lever L depressed, the knotter K is now operated to cut and twist the ends of the loop of wire embraoing thebundle B.

As previously stated, the shaft 25 of the knotter K only describes 'a predetermined number of revolutions to effect the cutting and twisting of the wire ends whereupon it automatically comes to rest. This is efiected by virtue of the cam wheel 67, as the lever L is maintained in its lowered position by the roller 71 contacting with the concensubsequent to the cutting'and twistingkpptric surface of the cam wheel. As soon as the cam wheel has completed one revolution, the roller 71 drops into the notch 67 by virtue of the spring 66 acting on the lever L so that the shaft S is disconnected from the shaft S thereby bringing the knotter operating mechanism to rest.

Before the knotter K comes to rest and eration, the remaining end of the wire is automatically inserted between the plate 26 and the head 23. The manner in which the knotter performs this function is clearly set forth in the application previously referred to.

Upon the return of the lever L to normal position, the needle N returns to the position shown in Fig. 13, with the wire W removed from the positioning finger 36 and the guiding finger 37 being still retained by the plate 39. The tied bundle or shook now tied as shown in Fig. 14 is of course removed from the machine to allow the tying of the next bundle. It will be noted that in order to properly position the wire V for the reception of a succeeding bundle, the wire is removed from the plate 39 but its end is still retained between the plate 26 and the vhead'23 so that it again occupies the position shown in dash lines in Fig. 1.

Although I have herein shown and described only one form ofbinding machine embodying my invention it will be understood that various changes and modifications may be made herein without departing from the spirit of the invention and the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A binding machine, comprising a knotter, mechanism for actuating said knotter, driving means for said mechanism normally disconnected therefrom, a manually operable lever for controlling said driving means capable of occupying one extreme position wherein said means is connected to said mechanism and another extreme position wherein said means is disconnected from said mechanism, means for biasing said lesaid lever to occupy one position or the other according as said lever occupies one extreme position or the other.

2. A binding machine, comprising a knotter, a needle, a manually operable lever connected to said needle and capable of occupying two extreme positions, means for biasing said lever to one extreme position, and a bracket connected to said needle for permitting vertical movement of the needle when said lever is actuated and for causing lateral movement thereof toward and away from saidknotter, Y

. eating nevaooe 3. A binding machine, comprising a knotter, and a manually operable needle capable of occupying two extreme positions and .adapted to support a tying wire above the needle mounted for vertical and lateral movements at one side of said knotter, mechanism for actuating said knotter, driving means for said mechanism, and a lever capable of occupying two extreme positions and adapted to efiect a connection or disconnection between said mechanism, and means according as it occupies one-extreme position or the other, said lever being connected to said needle for actuating the latter.

5. A needle for binding machines comprising, a bar, a positioning finger formed on the bar, and a guide finger on the bar adjacent the positioning finger, both of the fingers being provided with notches and the guide finger formed with a groove communidescribed.

6. A needle for binding machines comprising a bar, a positioning finger formed on one end of the bar, and a guide finger on the bar adjacent the first named finger and having. an offset portion which is disposed directly opposite the first-named finger, said positioning finger and offset portion being formed with alined notches and said guide finger being formed with a groove, all for the purpose described.

7. In a binding machine, a needle, comprising a bar, a positioning finger, a guide finger on the bar, and a tension device carried by the bar. I

8. "A binding machine, comprising a frame, a bed plate supported by the frame, aknotter carried by the bed plate, a pulley above the bed plate for supporting a stretch of wire across the bed plate, a needle mounted for reciprocating movement at one side of said znotter, means carried by said needle for holding and positioning the wire trained over said pulley in proper position with respect to said knotter, and means for actuating said needle.

9. A binding machine, comprising a knotter, mechanism for actuating said knotter, driving means for said mechanism including a laterally movable shaft, a bar'connected to said shaft, a lever, and means connecting said lever and bar for effecting a delayed movement of said bar after said lever has been moved.

10. A binding machine, comprising a with its notch, all for the purpose knotter, mechanism for actuating said knotter, driving means for said mechanism including a'laterally movable shaft, a bar connected to said shaft, a friction wheel on said shaft, said mechanism including a shaft, a friction wheel on the last-mentioned shaft, a lever, a lug secured to said bar and adapted to lift said bar when the lever is lifted, and a strap on said bar for lowering said bar when the lever is lowered, said strap being spaced from said lug a distance sufiicient to lower the bar only after the lever has been lowered a predetermined distance.

11. In a binding machine, a knotter, a mechanism for actuating the knotter including a shaft, and a friction wheel fixed to the shaft, driving means for said mechanism including a laterally movable shaft, a friction wheel fixed to the shaft, and a bar carried by the shaft, a lever, means connecting said bar and lever for effecting a delayed movement of said bar when said lever is initially moved, means for biasing said lever to one position, and cam operated means for maintaining said lever in a position against the biasing means after the lever has been manually moved out of the biased position.

12. A binding machine comprising, a knoftter, a needle, and mechanism for actuating said knotter and needle comprising, a rotatable cam having a notch formed there- .in, a lever having a roller engageable with the said cam. a driving shaft, a driven shaft normally disconnected from the driving shaft and operatively connected to said knotter and cam, means connecting said lever and said driven shaft to effect an operative connection between the driving and driven shafts when said lever is moved in a direction to cause said roller to move out of said notch, and means for biasing the lever to a position wherein said roller is within said notch.

.13. A binding machine comprising, a knotter, a needle, a lever operatively connected to the needle and biased to an elevated position, a cam for maintaining the lever in a lowered position against said bias for a predetermined interval, means for actuating said knotter and cam, said means normally disconnected from the knotter, and means operable by said lever for operatively connecting the first means and said knotter only when the lever'is in lowered position.

14:. In a binding machine, a needle comprising, a bar, a positioning finger, a guide finger on the bar, and a tensioning device carried by thebar and comprising, a bolt slidable through the bar, a pin fixed to the bar, a plate slidable on the bolt and pin, and a spring engageable with the bolt for bias ing the plate toward the bar.

ALBERT EARL CRANSTUN. 

